1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door handle arrangement on an outer side of a door of a motor vehicle. The door handle arrangement has a door handle with opposite first and second ends. The first end is mounted pivotably in the door. An actuation projection is at the second end and protrudes into the door. The actuation projection actuates a door lock when the door handle is pivoted away from the door. A cover element is mounted in the region of the outer side of the door and adjacent to the second end of the handle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The expression “door” is used herein in a broad sense and relates not only to a door per se, but also to a flap or the like on a motor vehicle and formed with a door lock for closure of the door or flap.
DE 101 23 826 A1 discloses a door handle arrangement of the type mentioned above. The door handle is assigned to a door recess in the door and has opposite first and second ends. The door handle is pivotable in the region of the first handle end about a static axle of the door. The second end of the handle is arranged with a small lateral spacing to a cover element that is connected to the door. An actuation projection for actuating the door lock passes through a hole that is arranged at a location in the door adjacent to the cover element.
The door handle is gripped at a distance from the static pivot axle, and different pivoting and bending forces are introduced into the door handle depending on the specific grip situation. The static pivot axle provides inadequate tilt resistance of the door handle, particularly when the door handle is pulled to unlock the door.
The cover element covers a lock cylinder of the door lock and is provided with a hole, and a door cylinder extends through the hole for receiving a key.
Man doors and flaps cannot be locked and thus do not have a lock cylinder. For example, passenger doors and rear doors of motor vehicles do not have a hole that interacts with a lock cylinder. A cover element nevertheless is used as a part complementary to the door handle from an aesthetic aspect so that the door handle arrangement has an advantageous overall appearance.
DE 100 00 540 C1 describes a door handle arrangement on a motor vehicle where a recess-like cover element interacts with a door handle. The cover element is formed by a handle recess of the door handle and has a hole for receiving a lock cylinder of a door lock.
It is an object of the invention to develop a door handle arrangement of the type described above with a tilt-resistant mounting of the door handle during the pivoting movement thereof, in particular during the movement of the door handle into its open position.